Shoppers are willing to pay higher prices, says Coles
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The impending spin-out of Coles, expected to take place later this year, has increased scrutiny of Bunnings, which will account for more than half of Wesfarmers’ earnings at a time when a softening housing market could hurt its sales.
But Mr Scott said a higher relative exposure to Bunnings was good for shareholders, with the hardware chain supported by both necessity and discretionary spending, a growing commercial business, and continued population growth creating demand.
With speculation rife about acquisitions after the Coles spin-off, Mr Scott said he would not buy a new business just for the sake of “diversifying the portfolio”.
“It would be quite possible that we’ll be sitting here this time next year and I’ll be explaining to you why we haven’t done [bought] anything,” he said.
Bunnings Australia and New Zealand was again a stand-out performer in the quarter. Comparable sales grew 7.7 per cent, compared to 6 per cent growth in the same quarter last year, while total sales were up 9.1 per cent, compared to 7.4 per cent a year ago.
Article source: http://smh.com.au/world/conservatives-at-war-as-theresa-may-plans-for-no-eubrexit-deal-20171008-gywilb.html
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